Mayor Katjana Ballantyne is announcing that the Somerville Board of Health recently tightened two key regulations for tobacco/nicotine retail sales in Somerville.

As of March 1, 2024, the cap on the number of tobacco/nicotine retail licenses within Somerville will progressively decline. Each time a permit is surrendered, revoked, or not renewed, the cap will be adjusted downward. Additionally, all retailers will now be required to verify the age of every purchaser of tobacco/nicotine products via government photo I.D. to confirm the purchaser is 21 or older. 

Below are the unoffical results showing  how Somerville voted in the 2024  Presidential Primary:

PRESIDENTIAL PREFERENCE

Democratic Race

Dean Philips  445
Joseph R. Biden 7,940
Marianne Williamson  431
No Preference 2,596

Republican Race

Donald J. Trump  989
Nikki Haley     1,296
No Preference 21

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries and letters to the Editor of The Somerville Times belong solely to the authors and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville Times, its staff or publishers)

By State Senator Pat Jehlen

This is my second piece about rent stabilization. Here’s the first one.

Channel 25 ran a story about the conflict between renters and homebuyers vs. investors. They “found when investors use limited liability companies or LLCs to purchase properties – they can be hard to track.” Rep. Uyterhoeven’s bill, H3566, would allow identification of the owners of LLCs.

Don’t forget to set your clocks forward this weekend. March 10, Daylight Saving Time starts. When local standard time is about to reach Sunday, March 10, 2:00 a.m., clocks are turned forward one hour to Sunday, March 10, 3:00 a.m. local daylight time instead. Sunrise and sunset will be about one hour later on Mar 10 than the day before. There will be more light in the evening.

The Lunar New Year Rolling Parade rolled into Somerville last Sunday in celebration of the 4722nd Lunar New Year. ~Photos by Bobbie Toner

On Sunday, March 3, Mayor Katjana Ballantyne joined leaders and members of the Boston, Belmont, Cambridge, and Malden communities to celebrate the fourth Lunar New Year Rolling Parade which kicked off at the Lions Gate in Chinatown Boston at noon.

Eagle Feathers #299 – Brick Solid

By Bob (Monty) Doherty

Brick manufacturing in Massachusetts began as early as 1629, the year of Charlestown’s charter.

In 1678, Charlestown’s Peter Tufts built a brick home for his son in Medford. It is the oldest brick house in New England. Through the years, this extended Tufts family became large landowners and brick makers in both Medford and Somerville.

Who thought this thing up anyway? Spring forward, fall back. Or is that fall forward, spring back? The only way we can ever be sure is if we’re early or late for church Sunday morning, or whatever it is you do on Sunday morning.

To be fair, there’s usually someone around smart enough to know the difference, if it isn’t you yourself.

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I recently caught up with printmaker Liv Cappello, who recently took up a space at the Vernon Street Studios.  She went to college in the hinterlands of Vermont, and is now in the Paris of New England – Somerville, MA – perfecting her craft.

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Janelle Solviletti is a writer from Boston, Massachusetts. She is the author of two poetry collections, Euphony and The Cameo. Previously, she published works in Matter, The Horn Pond Review, The Feathertale Review and The Lyrical Somerville. She attended Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York, and currently lives and works in Boston.